Since last summer, older adult residents of nursing homes around the country, including LeadingAge member The New Jewish Home, have experienced the world. They have visited Havana, participated in high-seas diving adventures, gone skydiving above the Swiss Alps, and more—all in the comfort of their homes.

At the same time, caregivers have been experiencing the world through the eyes of older adults with dementia or sensory changes, growing empathy and an understanding of how best to deliver compassionate care.

Engaging Older Adults through Virtual Travel

The Great American Elderverse program, which brings virtual reality (VR) to underserved older adults, takes older adults on exciting virtual trips. The program is the creation of Mynd Immersive, which develops immersive technology and virtual reality, and the CTA Foundation, which connects older adults and people with disabilities to technologies that enhance their lives.

New Jewish Home is one of 60 nursing facilities in New York and New Jersey where the Elderverse is helping to improve older adults’ cognition and quality of life.

To be sure, VR’s use in aging services is not new, but it is evolving. LeadingAge CAST Patron RiverSpring Living is a strong proponent of using VR to combat social isolation and promote social engagement. In recent years, the community has adapted VR use at its Hebrew Home long-term care community to help rehabilitation patients return to their home settings.

Developing Empathy in Caregivers

In another initiative, almost 1,000 direct care workers, nearly 400 residents, over 10,200 family-and-friend caregivers, and learners at nine educational institutions have taken virtual reality trainings to better understand the challenges that older adults face.

As part of the CalGrows program, which enhanced the skills of direct care workers across California, the Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing (FPCIW) partnered with Embodied Labs to share immersive training for aging care statewide.

Caregivers learned to calm challenging moments through kindness, awareness of their own tone and body language, trust-building, and through offering older adults choices.

Leadership Summit Session to Highlight Learnings

Hear how these partners have achieved success by attending the LeadingAge Leadership Summit on Monday, April 7, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., in Washington, D.C.

RiverSpring Living’s David Finkelstein, chief information officer, and David Siegelman, senior vice president of quality and corporate compliance, as well as Jennifer S. Lee, operations manager of the Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing, will join LeadingAge CAST Vice President Scott Code to discuss their learnings. Be sure to catch “The Role of Virtual Reality in Aging Services” (Session 1-A), part of 30+ invaluable Leadership Summit sessions, April 7-9, 2025. Register today!